Rental scams are common here and on any site that allows the general public to post. Please be very cautious with deals that seem too good to be true. NEVER send money expecting keys back by mail.

Read the scam warning Trulia posts. I've attached a link to it below.

When you find a questionable listing please go to the More button on the listing and then hit the FLAG button on the listing page to warn Trulia and others or you can email it to rentalfraud@trulia.com... more

Every Seller is different. Depending on the offer presented; If you allow for the Seller to leave the home on the market as an alternative could make the offer more appealing and/or have your home already listed and ready to go. It is one of those situations where "if" plays a part. Good luck.... more

It could allow the seller to continue to market the home to other buyers.

I can't imagine many sellers being very excited about having to wait for the buyer's house to sell-- if it sells. The buyer's current house could be overpriced, in a bad location, outdated, bad floor plan, in need of many repairs, etc. Or, the buyer's "buyers" might not qualify, might walk away from the deal, etc.

Personally, I wouldn't want to take that gamble on "indefinitely" waiting for a buyer's house to sell... and not being able to continue to market to other buyer's. Make sure the seller (and buyer) is protected. The average house sale time in OKC now is what, 6 months, for the market average priced house? If it's a million dollar house, less than half a dozen of $1 million+ houses that aren't new construction have sold in Edmond in the past 1.5 years... if I recall correctly. You don't want to be a seller waiting 1.5 years for someone's house to sell before you get yours officially sold in that bracket. A $150,000 house sits on the market much less long, on average.

If a seller is even considering a contingency offer, the contract should be carefully drafted to allow the seller a good "out" so they're not waiting "indefinitely" for the buyer to sell their house.

A good number of people offer based on contingency. You just have to make sure the seller is protected and not stuck.

A strong priced offer with a reasonable contingency duration might be a win-win.... more